Sports

Derrick Lynch Works are set to begin next week on a €40,000 investment at Spanish Point Golf Club. It will see the installation of a new short game area incorporating a chipping and putting facility which is expected to take six months to complete. It is the latest positive news story for the West Clare club which has seen a rise in its membership figures for 2020 despite the Covid-19 crisis, while also attracting new overseas membership for the coming year. Club PRO Mervin Hehir outlined how the initial idea for the project first came about. “We wanted to develop something for the community which was affordable and accessible for the people of West Clare. It is something that you can do with the children for an hour if you want and it means you don’t have to go out on the course fully. One of our biggest success stories over the last few years has been our junior programme. …

Derrick Lynch A decision on the future of the 2019/2020 Clare soccer season is yet to be finalised but an update is expected to be issued soon. It is understood that the league executive have contacted the clubs in the county for their feedback on whether the season should be scrapped or restarted. It is believed that the majority of clubs are in favour of the campaign being played to its conclusion before the new season gets underway later in the autumn. Guidelines have been issued to clubs by the FAI in recent weeks outlining the requirements which will have to be in place before a safe return to training can be achieved. This includes a no contact policy along with no training based around set-pieces such as throw ins, corners or free kicks. It also states that 15 minute gaps must be left between sessions if multiple groups are using a facility. Former Clare District Soccer League chairman Jim …

Derrick Lynch The 2020 Clare Ladies football club championships are currently provisionally set to begin on August 10, according to chairman David O’Brien. Kilmihil were due to get the defence of their title underway this month, with the first two rounds originally pencilled in for June. That plan was scuppered by the outbreak of Covid-19, with Monday night fixtures now likely to utilised in order to counteract a packed local Gaelic Games calendar. The Cooraclare clubman confirmed that the county final weekend is planned to be on September 20, meaning the championship will be run off over a six week period. O’Brien outlined that clubs have been contacted over the last few weeks and the board are now awaiting feedback on what teams will be vying for honours this year. He also confirmed that underage competitions will be taking place for ladies football in Clare. “We already had structures in place for the U-14 and U-16 age groups and while …

Derrick Lynch An update is expected from the GAA in relation to a revised Master Fixtures plan for the remainder of 2020 in the coming days following the publication of the Association’s Return to Play roadmap. The document set out the dates for the resumption of activity at both club and county level, with July 29 now being the date which will see action return to the club fields across the country. The inter-county season is currently slated for an October 11 return but speculation is growing that the first two weekends will see the completion of the final rounds of the National League rather than the beginning of the championship. If that is to be the case, it will mean Clare’s attentions will immediately return to thoughts of survival in Division Two, with Colm Collins’ charges having two games left to play. Both of those will be in Cusack Park as Fermanagh and Armagh are both due come to …

Derrick Lynch There has been a lot of talk about roadmaps in relation to getting the country reopened once more after Covid-19, but for Clare camogie coach Conor Dolan that term has taken on a whole new meaning in the last few weeks. The Meelick native is undertaking a 100km fundraising walk over three days on from June 26-28 which will see him make his way from Eyre Square in Galway to the Daughters of Charity in Limerick. Four charities are set to benefit from his efforts with all funds raised being split between the Daughters of Charity, Down Syndrome Limerick, Clare Early Intervention Services (CEIS) and Fighting Blindness. The 100km route will be spread out over the course of the weekend, with the opening leg taking him from Galway City to Gort. The journey will continue into East Clare the following day with his home in Sixmilebridge as the final destination, while the final leg on Sunday June 28 …

Derrick Lynch The announcement of the phased return of sport in recent weeks has been welcomed in all quarters, including among those with their sights on one of the biggest global sporting stages. The 2020 Olympic Games were one of the highest profile sporting casualties of the Covid-19 crisis with the games being postponed and now being held next July. Among the athletes hoping to book their place on the plane for Team Ireland is Ennis swimmer Rory McEvoy. This week marked the first time competitors were allowed back into the pool for training since the outbreak began, as they resumed preparations at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin. McEvoy says it is a positive move to be back into the pool and getting the focus back on being ready for that shot at qualifying for the Olympics. “It feels like the country is moving in the right direction again for the first time since the pandemic began so I …

The announcement last weekend that there is sport on the horizon for the remainder of 2020 was universally welcomed as the first tentative steps of life after Covid-19 became something to think about. For Ennis man Gary Seery, it meant that the first official duties of his new role as a performance analyst with the Republic of Ireland are also moving into focus. The former Avenue United player was appointed to Stephen Kenny’s new look backroom team having worked with him during his tenure with the U-21 squad. The first game on the horizon is the crucial Euro 2020 playoff semi-final against Slovakia which was originally due to be played in March but was postponed due to the outbreak of Covid-19. It is hoped that the game will go ahead in the late Autumn with October the likely date. It marks the latest graduation in a remarkable career so far for Seery, with his love affair with the game being …

Derrick Lynch The decision to postpone the 2020 Clare Stages Rally was taken to avoiding further disruption to local communities in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. That is according to the clerk of the course Gerry O’Brien, who outlined that the committee felt it was unfair to implement the necessary road closures to run the event. “The last rally ran in the country was the Mayo Stages rally which was the first week of March, and the first one cancelled was in West Cork which is a huge event with nearly 200 entries. Most had arrived in Clonakilty for it, and it was pulled on the Thursday evening due to the Covid-19 outbreak. There has been no motorsport of any description anywhere in the country since then. The Clare Motor Club is 40 years in existence this year and we had huge plans in place with a number of events across 2020. Our stages rally was due to be …